Can Stem Cell Therapy Cure My Cancer?

For some patients with blood cancers, stem cell therapy represents a real chance for a cure.

The treatment harnesses the regenerative powers of stem cells (collected from you or a donor) to heal you after your body is cleansed of cancer found in your blood. Stem cells can replicate themselves and become other cell types.

Among the most common cancers treated with stem cells:

• Leukemia is the most common cancer in children. It occurs in early blood-forming cells and is found in the blood or bone marrow. There are several types, including acute (fast growing) and chronic (slower growing).
• Lymphoma starts in cells that are part of the immune system. Two main types are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The difference between the two is in the cancer cell identified in the lymphoma and the prognosis associated with its treatment.
• Myeloma occurs in the plasma cells responsible for making antibodies that help the body fight infections. Plasma cells are found primarily in the bone marrow. When they grow abnormally, becoming cancerous, it is called multiple myeloma.

Is Stem Cell Therapy Right for You?

There are several factors that come into play when deciding whether stem cell therapy is right for a patient.

Perhaps most important is whether you are physically able to handle the rigorous demands the treatment will put on your body. The process of preparing your body for the new stem cells will sap some of your strength. If you are able to exercise and stay active, that’s a great sign in your favor. The opposite is true if you are bedridden or using a wheelchair.

The treatment will also suppress your immune system (to prevent your body’s rejection of the transplanted cells), so you need to be in good general health, without any underlying infections. Certain chronic conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), may also exclude patients from eligibility.

Even if all these factors are in your favor, you will still need a suitable donor. It is possible to perform stem cell therapy with your own cells (autologous transplant), and the goal in that case will be to deliver high-dose chemotherapy safely, without destroying your stem cells. For some conditions like leukemia, your team will use donor cells (allogenic transplant) to add a new, healthy immune system that can fight the cancer. Before your treatment can be scheduled, your team will have to find a suitable donor, who could be a close relative or someone you’ve never met.

Day Zero

Your therapy will start a week or so before the actual transplant. The first step is preparing your body for the donor cells. You will be given chemotherapy – and possibly radiation – treatments and other medications to target your cancer and suppress your immune system. You will be admitted to the hospital at this point to protect you against accidental infections.

When your body is ready, the donor cells will be infused into your bloodstream. This is what’s known as Day Zero. From here on out, your doctors will refer to your timeline as Day +1, +2, etc.

Initially, it’s essentially a waiting game while the new cells work their way into your bone marrow and start making new, healthy cells. Every patient’s recovery is different. On average, the entire process takes about a month for your body’s immune system to be strong enough to support your return home.

There are no guarantees that this treatment will cure your cancer. But for some of these conditions, this can be the best option.

Stem cell therapy also comes with risks. These include:

• Graft rejection: Your own immune system could reject the donor cells, making it as though the transplant never happened.
• Graft-versus-host disease: The new cells attack one or more of your organs.
• Infection: With a recovering immune system, you are more vulnerable to infections that might normally cause you no difficulty.
• Relapse: The cancer could return.

A Word About Donors

One of the challenges facing patients who are eligible for stem cell therapy is the difficulty finding suitable donors. Most people may not even realize that there is such a thing as registering to be a stem cell donor.

There are various registries, though one of the largest is maintained by NMDP. Signing up is easy – if you meet certain requirements, you are given a kit and asked to return a cheek swab.

If you are ever called upon, it is a relatively painless procedure. You’ll be given an injection to boost your production of stem cells, which are then harvested from your blood. You may feel flu-like symptoms for a couple of days – but it’s a small price to pay for potentially helping someone receive a cure for their cancer.

This content is not AI generated.